Vale – Ralph McQuarrie – 82 Years Old

Illustrator Ralph McQuarrie (Star Wars, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, E.T., Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Battlestar Galactica) died on Saturday at the age of 82. The Oscar Winner (for COCOON) was instrumental in fashioning all the major sci-fi and fantasy action film aesthetics of the 80’s and 90’s. A look that is still used today.

This from George Lucas:

“Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars. His genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy. When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, ‘Do it like this.’”

Here are some of McQuarrie’s original concepts for STAR WARS and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA –